Stromstad to succeed Perra as CEO

UTICA, N.Y. >> Darlene Stromstad, FACHE, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS), effective Jan. 1, 2019.

Current MVHS President/ CEO Scott H. Perra, FACHE, announced his retirement in January 2018. Perra began his work at St. Luke’s-Memorial-Hospital Center more than 30 years ago in 1985. He served in a leadership role through the consolidation of Faxton Hospital to form Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare (FSLH) and again with the affiliation of FSLH and St. Elizabeth Medical Center to form MVHS.

Perra was instrumental in bringing together two extraordinary healthcare organizations to form MVHS and has helped create the opportunity for MVHS to build a new, regional healthcare campus that provides a stateof-the-art setting for medical staff, employees and volunteers to provide care and serve the community for generations to come.

Following Perra’s announcement, the MVHS Board of Directors formed a search committee to find a new CEO and after nearly a year of searching and vetting extremely qualified candidates, selected Stromstad. In announcing her appointment, Joan Compson, chair of the MVHS Board of Direc- tors, said the Board Search Committee had been looking for a high-caliber leader for the growing organization and they found that in Stromstad.

“We look forward to a future under Darlene’s leadership and are excited about the key role she will play in advancing our health system’s mission of providing excellence in healthcare for our communities,” said Compson. “With Darlene’s dedicated service and extensive healthcare knowledge and experience, we are confident that the Mohawk Valley Health System will continue to thrive.”

Stromstad has decades of experience in healthcare and has led a variety of healthcare organizations across the country. She most recently was in Boston, Mass., where she served as interim CEO of Fenway Health, one of the nation’s premier and largest federally qualified health centers. Prior to that, Stromstad was in Connecticut where she served as president /CEO of Waterbury Hospital and the Greater Waterbury Health Network (now known as Waterbury HEALTH). During her sixyear tenure at Waterbury Hospital, Stromstad helped to stabilize the organization’s financial position, rebuild its employee culture and morale, and assure its future through a strategic partnership and acquisition. Prior to that she served as president and CEO of Goodall Hospital in Sanford, Maine, where she also was instrumental in strengthening the hospital’s finances and expanding healthcare services for the community.

Stromstad is known nationally for her leadership and active engagement in organizations such as the American College of Healthcare Executives where she served as a member of the Board of Governors. She also served on the American Hospital Association’s Metropolitan Advisory Council. She served at the statewide level on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Hospital Association and the Maine Hospital Association, and at the local and regional levels as a Board member for the Greater Waterbury United Way, Greater Water- buryChamberofCommerce, Naugatuck Community College, and Sanford-Downtown Legacy.

“I am delighted to be joining MVHS at this exciting time in its history,” said Stromstad. “It’s amazing how this organization has evolved from three distinct hospitals into a robust health system and is now on the precipice of building a new, state-ofthe-art medical center. My congratulations to MVHS president/CEO Scott Perra and the board, and to all the stakeholders who had the vision and worked tirelessly to make this happen.”

“This is a time of tremendous opportunity and a true milestone in healthcare services for our community – and for Central New York as a region,” she continued. “There is much work ahead. I am eager to begin working collaboratively with, employees, physicians, unions, community leaders and the board in building a new era in healthcare in the region. I look forward to quickly getting acquainted with the community and all the people who will be instrumental in charting the next course for the future of MVHS.”

Stromstad received her Master of Business Administration from Rivier College in Nashua, N.H., and her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D.

Darlene Stromstad